Israeli authorities announced on Tuesday that a terrorist, implicated in the abduction of an Israeli individual during the October 7, 2023, events, was eliminated earlier this month.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, the nation’s internal security agency, confirmed that the August 10 strike in Gaza resulted in the death of Jihad Kamal Salem Najjar.
“A small portion of my healing occurred today. My gratitude goes to the IDF, Shin Bet, and all involved in neutralizing one of the terrorists who abducted me on October 7,” Yarden Bibas expressed in a statement released via the Hostages and Missing Families Forum. “Due to their actions, he can no longer inflict harm.”
He further stated, “Please protect yourselves, heroes. I anticipate complete resolution with the repatriation of my friends David and Ariel, alongside the other 48 captives.”
Najjar was implicated in the incursion into the , which was among the most severely affected locations during the lethal October 7 assaults, and where Bibas was seized. Bibas’s family was taken separately and later perished while held captive.
He remained a hostage for 480 days prior to his release in January. His wife, Shiri, and their two young children, Ariel and Kfir, tragically died before their remains were repatriated to Israel.
During his captivity, Bibas was compelled to appear in a hostage video, where he was observed emotionally distressed after Hamas asserted that his wife and children had been killed.
Hostage videos are frequently employed by Hamas, in what the IDF refers to as “psychological terror.”
Following his liberation, Bibas’s family conveyed that “a quarter of our heart has rejoined us after 15 arduous months… Yarden has come home, yet the household remains unfinished.”
Subsequent to Hamas’s assault, the Bibas family emerged as an emblem of the ’s brutality. Viral video captured Shiri Bibas cradling her two red-headed children, circulating widely worldwide.
In April, Israel reported the killing of Mohammed Hassan Mohammed Awad, identified as a senior commander within the Palestinian Mujahideen terrorist organization, who was involved in directing “multiple” attacks on the Nir Oz kibbutz.